


Dulce Et Decorum Est

by yorkisms



Category: Lazer Team (2015)
Genre: Adam backstory, Adam's training, Canon Major Character Death, Child kidnapping ?kinda?, DETIA is bad, Gen, Not Overly Graphic, The team mostly appears in the end of it, science without consent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-11
Updated: 2016-12-30
Packaged: 2018-09-07 22:34:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 13,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8818786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yorkisms/pseuds/yorkisms
Summary: Project Perseus- 1983Subject: Adam ██████ (PP-001)Date of birth: December 29 19██Relations: ██████ █████ (mother), █████ █████ (father) DETIA takes in a baby in the spring of 198█. His name is Adam, and everybody knows he's going to save the world.





	1. Prologue: 2016

**Author's Note:**

> I'm really, really excited to be starting another multi-chapter fic. 
> 
> Writing this was more a spur of the moment decision than my other multi-chapter fic, Lazer Quest, but the idea fascinated me too much to not. So this fic is going to be my headcanons around Adam: his backstory, where he comes from, and his relationships with DETIA. 
> 
> I'm gonna try to keep this on a similar update schedule to when I was writing LQ: once a day. That might not happen, but I can try, and this'll likely be updating at least once a week.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _It’s sweet and fitting to die for one’s country._   
>  _Yet death chases after the soldier who runs._
> 
> \--Horace, _Odes_ 3.2

With the absolute media firestorm around the landing of the worg and the Lazer Team's fight against it, Colonel Emory doesn't return to the base until late at night.  
He has more work to do. He's spent all day working on debriefing the team, fending off the press, and putting out any potential fires.  
But there's one more thing he needs to deal with. It's back at the base, in the files. He's been thinking of what to do about thesee things all day, and he hopes the files can give him some clarity. 

At least they were able to send the team home for the night, and with luck they can extend that some. Putting those four up on DETIA's dime might be sore, right now.

He makes it to the base past midnight, and makes a straight shot to the control rooms. Where he needs to go is quite clear to him.

Emory enters the control room, looking at the workers who are talking, typing, and otherwise running around.

"Can somebody get me the Project Perseus files. All of them." 

Everyone stops and falls silent- it's been a long day, fraught with...let's call it emotion. Everyone here has been working on the same project for years. Working with and on Project Perseus- Adam- which has recently been changed a great deal. Everyone is coping. 

Finally, one of the workers- one who works mostly in a secretarial capacity- speaks up to assist him.

"Follow me to the stacks, sir." 

"Thank you." 

The DETIA base has existed for some time now, so it accommodates quite a bit of archival capacity. Right now, Emory is looking for something very specific. 

The secretary sits him down at one of the tables within the archive. She leaves then, letting him alone for a few minutes before she returns with a box of papers marked with the DETIA seal and someone's scribbled handwriting which indicates Project Perseus.

"Thank you." 

"No problem, sir," she says politely. "When you're done, you can come get me to help you put them back, I'll be out front."

He thanks her, and then he opens the box as she leaves. 

The files from the tests were put in here as a hard copy- those are on top. He takes those out, examining the poor marks on physical examinations that Adam had learned to score perfectly in. The scores were admittedly abysmal, but Emory could convince himself that it was their first try at it, after all. Why would they know exactly what to do. 

Who could have suspected that those four would turn out to get the job done, albeit barely? Then again, who could have suspected that the worg itself was not a threat but a ploy, a game played by the infinitely more powerful antarians. 

Emory glances at these records- he didn't observe the tests himself, but he did hear the complaints. Not just from the lack of athleticism, either. Complaints about attitude from the early tests had forced him to throw a psychological report into the mix along with a physical evaluation.

_Health report and psychological evaluation_

_Mendoza: Possible addiction to nicotine and alcohol. Depression, likely extending back twenty years or so, related to falling out with A. Hagan. Would not be recommended for further action._

_Spencer: Impulsive and hyperactive. Further tests needed to indicate if ADHD is a likely diagnosis. At risk for alcohol abuse. Quick to anger, sensitive to insult, could easily be tricked into a fight. Not recommended for further action._

_Johnson: Exponential increase in intelligence due to interference from suit. Low self-esteem, inability to read situations and often prone to taking things literally. Physical state is weak, at best. Possibly stable enough, but not recommended for further action._

_Hagan: Depression likely, indications of feeling directionless in life. Hints of feeling severely lonely, known victim of bullying. Probable underlying issues from fallout with H. Mendoza. Visceral reaction noted to mentions of past conflicts, particularly the word h_ ███-███. _Not recommended for action at present time._

Emory scans this, and then sighs, putting it to the side. He'll have to work with this in the future, go into more detail, but that's not what he's here for. 

Underneath the more recent papers is a thick file with a red classified stamp. Emory lifts this out- it's the only other thing in the box- and sets the box on the floor.  
He opens the file. 

_Project Perseus- 1983_

_Subject: Adam_ ██████ _(PP-001)_

 _Date of birth: December 29 19_ ██

 _Relations:_ ██████ █████ _(mother),_ █████ █████ _(father)_

_Located at: Saint Matthew's Hospital, Santa Lucia, Arizona_

_Examination scores:_

_Physical: Good health, little genetic potential for heart disease or other genetic disorders._

_Mental: Intelligence potential high..._

Emory reads down the page to the notes he's seeking. He remembers all of this, of course, he was involved in the search for a candidate who could have the potential to wield the suit of power and who could withstand the rigorous training. He doesn't need to refresh himself on Adam's test scores, conclusions or numbers. 

He knows damn well that Adam's scores were, mathematically, the best. That they gave humanity the best odds of survival.

 _Update 2016:_ ██████ █████ _(mother of PP-001) and_ █████ ████ _(father of PP-001) have had two more children. Remain unaware of PP-001's existence. Threat to security of PP-001 is negligible._

_History of PP-001:_

_After the location of PP-001 in 19_ ██ _it was decided that PP-001 was the ideal subject for Project Perseus..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tumblr is letthelazerteamlive and posts about these headcanons/this fic will be tagged "oops! all adam"! Contact me there if you want to chat! 
> 
> Or bookmark/comment/kudos if you enjoyed it!


	2. Babies- Like the Ones Upstairs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You know — we've had to imagine the war here, and...We had forgotten that wars were fought by babies. When I saw those freshly shaved faces, it was a shock. "'My God, my God — ' I said to myself, 'It's the Children's Crusade.'"
> 
> \--Kurt Vonnegut, _Slaughterhouse-Five_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What, another chapter in the same day?? what??? 
> 
> Okay, in honesty, I have finals this coming week, and Mondays are busy busy for me, so consider this tomorrow's chapter today. 
> 
> Kurt Vonnegut is one of my favorite authors. I think he'd appreciate being quoted on a thing I haven't edited and literally just wrote.

Cassia Evers, nee Jaeger, met her husband in college. 

They were at a party. Her roommate, Jana, had insisted on going, but it was turning out to be a bust. 

Jana had run off with her boyfriend of the week, and Cassia was sitting on the couch trying to look busy. 

Isaac had leaned on the arm of the couch closest to her. 

"Are you having a good time?" 

Cassia paused, then shrugged. 

"I'm kind of my roommate's ride home, so-" 

He laughed. 

"My roommates didn't even ask me before having people over. You want to go get Denny's instead?"

She said yes. 

She was studying more generally at the time, he was seeking a doctorate his family was hopeful for. 

They fell in love. 

When he was in graduate school, three years later, and she was two years into a job in sales at a department store, he took her out to Denny's after a long shift on Black Friday. 

"Cassie?" He said after a while, looking over the menu. 

"Yeah?" 

He tried to pull a box out of his sleeve, fumbled, and dropped it. She laughed, and he was forced to duck under the table to bring it back up. 

"Will you marry me?" 

Again-- she said yes. 

Three more years passed before, in Spring, she told him the news that she was pregnant. 

The debates over a name lasted a while. Back and forth they went, in a good-natured manner, until they settled on one. 

When she was recovering from the birth, he was there with her, and they were both playing with the baby- he was very lively and healthy seeming, to them at least, and Cassia thought that she could never be this happy again. 

He looked like Isaac, almost, the same eyes, and her hair. He was curious when awake, feeling around for new things and laughing at the contact from his parents.

One of the doctors came in. 

"We're trying new health tests this week for the newborns here. Can we have him back for a while?" 

"You'll bring him back, right?" 

The doctor smiles. 

"Of course."

Cassia hands her the baby. 

-

She never saw the child again. The doctors inform her that, in no relation to the tests, his heart failed. They blamed some kind of condition, that they hadn't previously detected somehow, and they were very sorry for their loss. 

Cassia couldn't believe it, but as far as she could tell, there was no reason for them to lie to her. 

So she returned home, and began to pick up the pieces to try again.

Their second child was also a boy. They considered giving the second one the same name as the first, but then decided that would be too emotional. They named him Alexander instead. There were more tests, this time, closer medical attention- but there were no more complications. 

Alexander grew up healthy, as did the child after him- a daughter, Mara. 

The memory of their first child faded some, but both Cassia and Isaac had no doubt in their mind that they would be forever diminished by Adam's death. 

-

On that day, at the hospital, the truth was that Adam had scored the highest on tests of potential given at multiple hospitals throughout the nation. He was held overnight for DETIA to examine and compare to other babies.

Emory remembers it well- he was called in to see Adam himself.

"Sir," one of the lieutenants said to him, "Here he is." 

Emory had read Adam's scores himself, and observed one of the doctors handling him. 

"His personality appears good, sir, intelligent, clever, prone to being a good listener. He's not at risk for genetic diseases, low risk for mental illness genetically-" 

Emory cuts the lieutenant off with a nod. 

"Lieutenant Raleigh, I'd like you to notify the others of this. We'll be taking him to Milford tonight." 

"Yessir." 

"We have our Perseus." 

"Sir," Raleigh said, shifting in place. 

"Why take a child?" 

Emory paused. "It will be harder to find an adult who can be educated to save the world, lieutenant. The best we can do is to educate someone when their mind is flexible enough to learn it." 

"What about the parents, sir? Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Evers?" 

Emory looked at Raleigh. 

"They can't know about this, of course. The doctors will inform Mr and Mrs Evers that their son, Adam, has died of a previously undetected congenital heart defect. You will tell the doctors this, won't you?" 

"Yessir," Raleigh replied. "Congenital heart defect."

"We'll be flying back to Milford tonight," Emory says, "And then on Monday, I will be meeting with the secretary of defense to discuss the progress of this plan and the interpretation of the WOW Signal. In the meantime, I want the base to be focusing on first, taking care of Adam, and second, his early education."

"What about his records, sir?" 

Emory paused. 

"Censor any indication of where he's come from, that might lead a person back here. Keep the name, though."

"Adam Evers?"

"No," Emory said firmly. "Just Adam." 

"Yessir!" 

"Anyone at the base who has children, call them in and get them to help with him. Make sure he's got enough to do and that it's conducive to brain activity."

"Of course, sir." 

"Take him yourself."

"Yessir." 

Raleigh took Adam from the doctor, and Adam grabbed at Raleigh's lapels. Raleigh jumped slightly, then laughed. 

"His curiosity was high, according to the scores." 

The tension lifted, for a moment, and then Raleigh stood up straighter. 

"We'll have him home by tomorrow night, sir. Can babies fly?" 

"I don't know, ask a doctor. If not, drive him, it's not that far back to Texas." 

"Yessir!" 

Raleigh left with Adam, and Emory looked at his clipboard, flipping Adam's files out of the way to find his schedule. He had a flight to Washington, D.C, scheduled for an hour from now out of Phoenix.

"Sergeant Worth! Get me a car."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment/bookmark/kudos or contact letthelazerteamlive on tumblr for more of those good good word pictures.


	3. First Words and First Lessons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "So one could know that the lad wished not  
> to weaken in war, when he seized weapons."
> 
> \--Anonymous, _The Battle of Maldon_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't remember if I mentioned it, but I have finals this week, so I will probably give my update schedule a big pause on Wednesday. 
> 
> Other than that, though, have some baby child Adam.

There's not a lot you can do with a baby. 

Of course, there's audio of some of the base's primary caretakers to Adam reading playing while he sleeps, and he's got all the toys he could want- puzzles, to increase intelligence, and physical things. 

One of the workers, Private Ana La Casa, is carrying Adam when Emory makes his weekly visit almost a year in.

"Private La Casa, I expected Lexington, where is he?"

"We switched shifts, sir."

Emory looks at Adam. "How's he doing." 

Ana sets Adam down, and then sits. 

"Fine, sir. He's tried to walk once or twice, but nothing substantial yet." 

"Nothing substantial?" 

"No, sir, but he's not been discouraged. Diego had him on the last attempt, so he could tell you more if you really want to hear about it, sir. I imagine there's video." 

"Yes, private, there is. Has he spoken yet?"

"No words, sir, but that's not unusual. He's not in the range for that yet, in a few months he will be. At the rate he's developing, I would say sooner rather than later."

"Do you think the audio is helping?" 

"Hard to say scientifically, sir-" 

"If I wanted a scientific opinion I would ask one of our scientists, Private, what's your estimate." 

"Well, sir, I believe that not only is he an exceptionally clever child and that the programs the doctors have designed for him are educating him very well." 

Emory's been asking the other caretakers the same question when he visits during their shifts. He's received mostly a consensus that they're doing all they can, but they agree that the more substantial lessons will come later. 

("We're laying the foundation, sir," Diego had said. "What we're doing now will help the visible progress later, believe me.")

Emory doesn't know much about raising children, which is why he's letting the parents of the base run this part of the show. He's just here to facilitate anything they might need, and make sure Adam only gets the very best.

They both stop, as Adam rolls over slowly. Ana gasps softly, surprised. 

"Oh!" 

Adam pauses, then pushes himself to sitting. He takes a break, now and Ana sighs. 

"He'll be walking soon, I imagine, sir." 

"We're not going to push him on anything like that until he's walking more consistently," Emory says. "But as soon as he's ready we're going to have him on the exercise and agility programs Dr. Jackson wrote up for him." 

"Yessir. It'll be a few more years before we can start leaving him more to his own devices-" 

"How old do you think?"

"Hard to say, sir, we'll have to see how his personality develops. Ideally, when he's about eight or nine, we can start developing his independence rather than dependence. He won't have anyone helping him when it's time for him to do his job." 

"Of course not, sir." 

Adam makes a small noise, then rolls forwards until he's on all four, and then slowly gets to his feet. 

"Has he stood before, Private?" 

"No, sir." 

Adam takes a cautious step forwards, and both watch with interest as Adam cautiously crosses the two or three foot distance to Emory, who kneels. 

Adam grabs his sleeve. 

"Da." 

"Did he just speak?"

"He tried to, sir," Ana says, clearly pleased. "Respectfully, I think we chose a very clever and tenacious child." 

"I'm inclined to agree, private." 

Emory stands up while Ana picks Adam up before he falls over. 

"It's time for him to be fed, sir."

"Ah, yes, 1200. I'll leave you to it, private. And Private Lexington is taking over from you when?" 

"1500, sir. He's coming here from his house. His wife had to leave him with their child today for business so we all switched shifts." 

"Perfect. If he cancels for an emergency let one of the secretaries help you contact someone else for a shift change." 

"Absolutely, sir." 

"Thank you, Private La Casa."

"No problem, sir!"

"And a few more things-"

"Yes, sir?" 

"Talk to Lexington about trying to keep his shifts better. And do you need any toys replaced?"

"Oh! He hasn't been biting for some months now, but he is still kind of mouth-tactile. I can get you a list of things that need to be replaced-"

"Excellent, Private, if you could get that to Worth."

"Yessir." 

"He can take care of that. And ask the doctors-" 

"Ask them what, sir?" 

"-Adam should have an appointment coming up."

"Oh, of course, sir." 

"Make sure to tell them that I want to be there, I have a report to submit to Washington." 

"Yessir, I'll have all that done before I leave for the day." 

"Thank you, La Casa."

"Of course, sir!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> letthelazerteamlive.tumblr: fics, headcanons, edits, requests taken. (tag for this fic is oops! all adam). 
> 
> Please comment/bookmark/kudos if you liked!


	4. Hero in Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "With this she [Athena] darted furiously everywhere among the hosts of the Achaeans [Greeks], urging them forward, and putting courage into the heart of each, so that he might fight and do battle without ceasing. Thus war became sweeter in their eyes even than returning home in their ships."
> 
> \--Homer, _The Iliad_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look, I went four chapters before making a Greek mythology reference. Great work, me. You really can't be stopped.

Once Adam is walking and talking, as a toddler, taking care of him gets a lot more complex. Adam, first and foremost, is curious, and if he's given an open door he'll go through it. 

He's run off more than once, not for any reason other than he sees something interesting around the base and he wants to explore it. 

Once he's five, though, DETIA starts to prepare to educate Adam with everything they know.

La Casa, the other caretakers, and some of the scientists are in charge of his education- cultural and otherwise. 

It's been agreed that when Adam is seven he'll start proper training, but up until then he's learning about what he's going to do, and the world. 

The latter is covered with television and literature. The former is harder to explain.

One day, Adam tugs at La Casa's pants. She looks down.

"The Colonel keeps saying I have a big job when you talk to him," Adam asks. "What does he mean by that?"

La Casa squats down so that she's closer to his height, and thinks very carefully of what she can tell him, and how she can put it in his language. And more importantly, she can't scare him. He is going to be meticulously taught and prepared, after all, if he thinks just one day he's going to have to fight an alien without a lifetime of preparation he's going to cry and stress over something that isn't a problem. 

They're going to have Adam, a born and bred alien fighter, and they're going to have the suit.

"When you're grown up," La Casa explains, "A big, bad alien is going to come here."

"Here?" Adam asks, pointing at the ground. La Casa nods. 

"That's bad," Adam says, and La Casa can't help but laugh softly. 

"Yes, it will be. Fortunately, we have you!" 

"Me?" 

"Mhm! We're gonna teach you how to stop him, and you're gonna save the world." 

Adam processes this while La Casa ruffles his hair. 

"We're gonna teach you everything we know." 

-  
It's a few hours before Adam asks anything else, and it's to one of his other caretakers, Lexington.

"How am I gonna fight a big alien with just me?" 

Lexington pauses, then explains. 

"We're gonna find a big weapon. A suit of power." 

Adam pauses, trying to parse that in his head. 

"...like...like Iron Man?" 

Reading Adam comic books had been a more recent development, on the recommendation of La Casa's husband and another one of Adam's caretakers, Diego Santos. Having positive hero role models was a good idea, Santos had reasoned, and it was working. 

"Yeah, kind of like Iron Man." Lexington snorts. 

"It's gonna make you powerful enough to beat that alien so bad they never even think about earth again." 

Adam nods, understanding better. 

"And you're gonna teach me?" 

Lexington nods.

"Don't worry about it, alright? S'not gonna happen until you're much older. And we're gonna be here to help you learn how to be a great hero." 

"Like Pete Malloy?

"Yeah, like Pete Malloy." Lexington snorts softly.

Adam seems satisfied with this answer and this conversation. 

Then he looks back at Lexington. 

"What's the super suit gonna be like?" 

"You know, there's people who can answer that better than I can, kid."

- 

The scientists talk at Adam for ages, but he still doesn't quite get what the suit is supposed to be until Santos starts to explain it. 

"There's 4 parts of the suit, Adam."

"Yeah?" 

"You're gonna have to use all four at once to make it work."

"Okay." 

"You're gonna have a gun and a shield..."

"Mhm."

"And boots and a helmet." 

Adam looks confused. 

"What does that do?" 

"The helmet lets you see things. Like, um..." Santos snaps his fingers. 

"Like Cerebro, but you can take it with you." 

Adam's eyes light up. "Oh!" 

"Technically it's not quite like C-" 

Santos gives the scientist a look, and he shrugs. 

"It does let you see things, though, and control other functions according to the schematics we have. Like...it makes you invisible."

"Ooooh!" 

"And you can see types of light you can't normally see unless you're wearing the helmet." 

Adam oohs, then Santos asks, "Does that make sense?" 

Adam nods. 

"And the boots let you run faster than anyone can see." 

"So I'm gonna be a hero?" 

"Exactly," Santos says, then he ruffles Adam's hair. Adam falls backwards and onto his butt, startled, then he giggles. 

"We're gonna make you a real life hero."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bookmark/comment/kudos if you liked and visit my tumblr letthelazerteamlive! the tag for this fic is "oops! all adam" and today's hot discussion topic is predictions for the lazer team sequel!


	5. Deep Breaths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Little souls who thirst for fight,   
> These men were born to drill and die.   
> The unexplained glory flies above them..."
> 
> \--Stephen Crane, _Do Not Weep, Maiden, For War is Kind_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone, please, deliver me from finals. I wrote this instead of studying.

Adam is seven when he's put to the first physical test.

La Casa takes him outside, where the scientists are and where the Colonel is. 

Adam doesn't speak to people other than the caretakers often, apart from when the Colonel comes in to check on him. Adam knows that the colonel is in charge of what's happening, and to treat him with respect, but apart from that Adam regards the colonel with a degree of curiosity. After all, up until now they haven't spoken much, and Adam wonders about him. Why does he do this? What does he think of it? Of Adam?

Adam doesn't have serious conversations much with the Colonel, out of anyone. 

La Casa takes him over to the scientists, who take a few minutes to try and explain what he's supposed to do. 

The colonel seems impatient, Adam thinks. 

"Alright, Adam," one of the scientists says. "You're going to preform several physical baselines so that we can monitor-" 

"Too complicated," La Casa interrupts.

"We need an idea of where you are," another scientist says. "So we can train you to be as strong as possible and so you can use your full potential." 

Adam nods. 

"That makes sense." 

"There's going to be several tests," the scientist says. "Speed, strength, agility, intelligence-"

Adam nods again. He gets it. He feels slightly like they're treating him like he's dumb. He's known all his life that this is what he's supposed to do. 

Get stronger. Get faster. Get suit. Fight alien. Win. Save the earth. 

"We'll start with a strength test."

Adam doesn't get to see the numbers on this test, which entails them adding weight to a bench press until he taps out, but they assure him that he did just fine. 

After this, they let him rest some before asking him to run a mile around the base. La Casa and the Colonel keep an eye on him from a car, and they don't tell him the results for this test, either. 

They give him some basic math problems to do, reading, things they've already taught him how to do. Just now they ask him to do it faster, and then they have him do some puzzles. 

The colonel doesn't react to this, either- actually, Adam can't see him during these tests. He's alone, although he implicitly assumes someone is watching him somehow. 

After this series of tests, they take him out to the yard, where there's a course set. 

"This is the last test, Adam."

"Okay." 

"Just run the course as fast as you can, okay?" 

Adam nods. 

"Dr. Davenport will run you through some stretches first," one of the doctors says, and Adam nods affirmatively. 

"Yes ma'am." 

"Okay. Do you remember the stretches we did before your earlier tests?"

"Yessir." 

"Good. Repeat those, please." 

Adam does, following the directions to stretch his legs and arms and then finally, his back and neck before the doctors clear him to start the test. 

Adam takes up position at the start, and flicks his eyes over the course. 

At the beginning there are rows of tires sat on the ground, and he presumes that he's not supposed to step on the tires themselves. 

"Are you ready to start?"

"Yes sir!" 

"Begin." 

Adam waits for the small click the stopwatch makes before he starts to run. 

Moving through the tires is easy, and the next obstacle is a series of hurdles which he clears easily. 

After the hurdles comes a low barrier, which Adam stops at for a second before dropping to his stomach and beginning to crawl through. 

He crawls slower than he runs, so it takes him a while to get out the other end. Once he's out, he sees a few feet of monkey bars. 

One jump takes him up to the first one, and he swings his weight forwards until he can grab the next one. 

Adam hears his skin squeak against the metal, but he hangs on despite the sting and keeps moving forwards. 

At the end of this he drops down, sticking the landing, and looks up at the next obstacle. 

It's a wood wall, at least three times his height or taller. At first it seems like there's no way up, but then he notices the wood ridges sticking out of the wall.

Adam grabs the first one he can reach with his hands, then he pulls himself up.

From there it's just climbing. 

Halfway up the wall, he pulls himself up, tries to move his foot to the next hold, and then slips with a yelp. 

He tries to pull himself up, then, and fails, his feet slipping off the footholds again. This time, the force of his body falling jerks his hands free, and he falls on his back in the sand. 

Adam struggles to breathe, and the next thing he knows one of the doctors is pulling him up to sitting. 

"Deep breaths."

Adam complies, taking a few breaths, overly conscious of the eyes on him. 

"We'll break for a bit," one of the scientists says. 

"Try again tonight." 

This is when the colonel speaks, finally, and it shocks Adam. 

"One hour."

"Yes sir," the scientist says. 

"In this case," the colonel says carefully, "An hour's break now could be a missed hour of training we need to defeat the worg. I don't want to push you, Adam, not any more than you can take. But we can't afford to take more than you need." 

Adam pauses, then takes a deep breath in and out. 

"I'll take fifteen, sir." 

"Fifteen it is," the colonel says, and then he helps Adam up.

"Thank you, sir." 

The colonel doesn't respond to that, and the scientists pull Adam away to make sure he's not seriously injured before letting him try again. 

Adam watches the colonel look at the course, and turn to La Casa and say something quietly. 

Adam wonders what the colonel was thinking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know the drill kids-- leave me a comment, kudos, or bookmark this mother to let me know you liked it, or ask me about it at letthelazerteamlive on tumblr dot com!


	6. So It Goes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I asked myself about the present: how wide it was, how deep it was, how much was mine to keep."
> 
> \--Kurt Vonnegut, _Slaughterhouse-Five_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why does it feel like such a long week? Anyway, here's chapter six.
> 
> A fun fact: All the works of art cited in my chapter descriptions and notes are about soldiers and war. I think Slaughterhouse-Five, as one of my all time favorite books, will be the only one to get a nod in these that is a book, not a poem.

_Project Perseus, 1989 335864875621_

_Activity Log: PP-001 Adam_ █████

_Adam's agility scores continue to improve, as do his other tests._

_However, an unusual relationship with the agility test has been reported. When permitted to choose his own practice regimen for the day, he will nine times out of ten choose the agility test. It is suspected this has to do with his previous experiences there._

_See file Perseus Project 2241545482B._

After Adam's tenth try at the course, he gets a visit from the Colonel. 

The Colonel arrives without much fanfare, this time, he just walks into Adam's room while Adam is reading one of the books the scientists have asked him to learn. 

Adam scrambles out of his bunk, and stands up, book forgotten. 

"Sir, I-"

"At ease, Adam," the colonel says, and Adam relaxes. "You can sit back down."

Adam sits down on the edge of his bed. 

"The scientists are telling me you keep trying the agility course." 

"Yes sir," Adam says, shifting cautiously in his spot. "You see-" 

"I appreciate your determination," the colonel interrupts, and Adam nods. 

"Failure is not an option, sir," Adam says softly. 

The colonel seems startled. Adam clenches his fists and clarifies himself. 

"I'm supposed to be the best, aren't I? That's why you picked me. Because I'm not supposed to fail. Ever." 

"You haven't learned anything yet," the colonel says. 

"I'm not supposed to fail," Adam repeats. 

The colonel doesn't object to what Adam is saying. 

"No," he says. "You're not. You're supposed to save the world." 

"Yes sir, I am." 

"And are you trying the course over and over again because of that?" 

"Yes sir, I am." 

The colonel hums to himself, and Adam watches him carefully. 

Adam always tries to read the people around them, to see if he's living up to the high expectations set for him. 

Normally it's easy. He can tell when he's giving the scientists results like they want. He can tell when La Casa, Santos, and Lexington are pleased with him for picking up his toys, changing his sheets, or cleaning his room. He can tell when the other soldiers are impressed with him for being strong, fast, and smart for his age. 

The colonel is always a mystery. Adam can never tell quite what the colonel expects of him, nor if he's providing it. 

Maybe it's easier for the others to tell, maybe the scientists know when the colonel is upset with what they're doing or La Casa to know when she's under-preforming. 

Adam, for one, can never tell. It puts him on edge, because his life is meant to support others. Save people. Impress. Be the best. The most important person in his world to impress is, of course, the colonel. The colonel is the boss of not only Adam, but everyone around Adam. Adam's not the only one who has to impress the colonel. The doctors do. Santos does. La Casa does. Lexington does. The other workers around the base, who Adam occasionally sees, they do too. (Adam doesn't like them much. Most of them talk to him like he's an idiot and ruffle his hair too much. Some of them bring him candy, though, nothing more than La Casa complains about. It's all hard candy, and the occasional cookie, even though the scientists say he shouldn't.)

The colonel finally speaks again.

"Adam." 

"Yes sir!" 

"Don't fail."

-

Emory checks his watch. 1:30 AM. 

The secretary who brought him in earlier has brought him coffee. It's cold by now, but he appreciates that he didn't need to request for it to happen. 

He has to decide what to do with these files. Has to decide who's going to remember Adam. 

Emory never met the parents himself, mind you, but he read about them. Working mom, turned stay-at-home mom after her second child. Father, now on the verge of retirement. Two younger siblings, both grown now, both college graduates. The brother is engaged. 

He doesn't have to tell them the truth about what happened. He could finish reviewing the files and put them in the trash and ask the secretary for matches. 

He could never have to think about the things they did to create the perfect warrior again. 

Bitterness wells up inside of him at the thought of how thirty-five years of work had been spoiled, and not just by the fools who shot down the suit. 

Adam could have won. 

He convinces himself of that before returning to the papers. 

_Edit May 6 1989: PP-001 has started to round out his training routine on the recommendation of Col._ ████████ █████. _The conflict appears to be resolved. Recommend further observation of mental state of PP-001. Chance of permanent effect negative to progress of Project Perseus is negligible._

 _APPROVED BY SGT._ ████ ████ _7 DAYS OBSERVATION, REPEAT ROUTINE PSYCHOLOGICAL EXAM_

Emory flips to the next page.

_Preteenage period: Age 11-13_

_199_ █- _199_ █

 _Physical development and training of PP-001 subject Adam_ █████ _proceeding as planned._

 _Physical checkup June 4 199_ █ _reveals first signs of puberty..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Now, when I myself hear that somebody is dead, I simply shrug and say what the Tralfamadorians say about dead people, which is 'So it goes.'"
> 
> -Kurt Vonnegut, _Slaughterhouse-Five_
> 
> I wasn't going to include the second half and this chapter was intended to be entirely different, but y'know, it happens. 
> 
> Also I wanted to include that quote given the split in this chapter. I might do more like that in the future. 
> 
> tumblr is letthelazerteamlive, tag for this 'verse is "oops! all adam," and bookmark/comment/kudos to tell me you're liking it!


	7. Never Such Innocence Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Never such innocence,  
> Never before or since,  
> As changed itself to past..."
> 
> \--Philip Larkin, _MCMXIV_

There's no reason not to be up front with Adam about growing up, and so they are. Adam, for one, doesn't quite understand all of what they tell him about his future development, but they assure him- if he doesn't yet, he soon will. 

The most important thing, they say, is that Adam will soon be grown up. And his strength and intelligence will increase considerably, and his odds against the worg will almost certainly increase.

This is what Adam sees as the important part, of course, because that's his job, and it has been for as long as he can remember. 

If growing up makes him better at his job, he's really all for it. 

Adam doesn't pay much attention to the idea, apart from what the caretakers are telling him now. 

Use deodorant, take showers after all training now- oh, and learn how to shave. 

Adam's facial hair starts to grow before he hits his growth spurt, so Lexington has to lift him up onto the bathroom counter so he can see properly before helping him learn how to shave. 

"Alright. You sure you don't wanna grow it out?" 

"It'll get in the way," Adam comments, looking at his midlevel five o'clock shadow. 

"Alright. It depends on how fast you grow it out, but you're gonna have to shave every day at the very most." 

"It varies?" 

"Yeah, some people just grow them super fast, some don't, it's just different." 

Lexington hands Adam a razor and then grabs the shaving cream. 

"In a pinch you can use water, but be careful with that. It can hurt." 

"Okay." 

Lexington applies shaving cream to his own face, then hands the can to Adam. Adam does an okay job spreading it evenly across his jaw and around his mouth, and then some ways down onto his throat. 

"There you go. Now follow my lead." 

Lexington takes his razor, and carefully swipes it down his cheek. Adam imitates the motion.

"You don't need to press too hard," Lexington comments, "The razor's fresh, and you haven't got too much hair. Just move it over, okay? If you still have some, try it more than once. With practice you can work out how much you can take without cutting yourself."

"Okay," Adam says, tilting his head back as he tries again. 

"There you go. Remember to rinse out the razor after a while, otherwise it gets clogged."

Adam looks down at the sink, and turns the cold water on before putting the razor under the faucet.

"Exactly," Lexington says. "Like that."

Adam doesn't show it, but he is pleased by the praise. 

"Why do people grow it out?" Adam asks. Lexington shrugs, continuing to shave himself. 

"For whatever reason, I guess. Like some people do their hair different." 

"Hm."

Adam adjusts his position slightly. 

"Keep going until you've got as much as you can," Lexington says. "Once it's all gone, then get down from the counter and wipe your face off with a towel, okay?"

"Yessir." 

"Make sure to get all the shaving cream off, okay?" 

"'course, sir." 

"It gets sticky," Lexington comments. "You can wet part of the towel and then wipe." 

Adam nods, and continues, and for a time Lexington just observes him.

When Adam is done, he cleans up after himself impeccably, and Lexington clears him to return to his room for the evening. 

"Grab dinner at any time in the mess, okay?" 

Adam's allowed to eat with the soldiers now. He generally eats alone, since he's the youngest out of everyone, and it feels kind of isolating, but he does need to eat. 

Adam nods. 

"Yes sir."  
-  
The next day, the colonel is visiting, and observing Adam's training. 

"He looks different from the last time I came in, Lexington."

"Yessir, during my shift watching him yesterday I taught him how to shave." 

"Was this authorized?"

"Not officially, sir, but he did ask, and I figured it was harmless." 

"He asked?"

"Yessir. Came up to me and pointed out that he was developing a bit of a beard and asked for help shaving." 

"Hm."

"I had La Casa bring him the supplies for that and showed him how it's done. With a great concern for safety, sir." 

"Yes, of course- make sure that his razors are safe and sterile, Lexington."

"Yes sir."

"Are there any signs of attachments, emotional changes, any need for a psychological evaluation?"

"Not that I've seen, sir, you can ask Santos or La Casa. We'll keep you posted." 

"Thank you, Lexington." 

The colonel is handed one of the files containing Adam's most recent scores. 

"He's improving by miles, isn't he?" Lexington asks with a note of pride. "It seems like yesterday you brought a baby with potential here, sir." 

"And it seems that we made the right decision."

"Yessir, I believe we did." 

"Keep an eye on him," the colonel says, and Lexington replies with a short nod. 

"You'll be the first to hear about all developments, sir!"

"That's what I was hoping," the colonel says. "It's our priority to make sure that he's in the best shape humanly possible to fight. This is the age where we have to be careful and make sure that we're teaching him right." 

"I agree completely, sir."


	8. Cultural Education, Part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'd like to think we had agreed upon this together,  
> that we had a tradition,  
> that we agreed these things explained us to us..."
> 
> \--Juliana Spahr, _Tradition_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holiday update! Finally found the energy to write, did I. I'm still gonna try and finish this before '17, but we'll see how that goes.

"Okay," Santos says, fiddling with the TV. 

"Cultural education. We've got enough time for one movie. What do you wanna watch?" 

"Alien," Adam says, and Santos pauses. 

"You've already seen Alien." 

"Can I not see it again?" Adam asks, then appends hastily, "Sir." 

"Well, that wouldn't be the point," Santos muses, "We're supposed to be catching you up on popular culture, references, let you watch human interactions outside the base..."

Adam looks down, for a moment. 

"And I've seen Alien, Aliens, and Alien 3." 

"Yep." 

Santos turns on the VCR. 

"Why do you like those films so much?" 

Adam pauses, then turns slightly red, playing with the hem of his shirt. 

"Um...no particular reason."

Santos raises his eyebrows. 

"If you insist." 

He returns to the VCR. 

"We've got The Breakfast Club."

"Mhm." 

"Any objections?" Santos asks, holding up the VCR. 

"No." 

Santos narrows his eyes suspiciously, but Adam stays, sat up and watching attentively. 

- 

Santos has never seen Adam tune out during a movie before. Adam normally watches attentively, since the cultural education is a window into a world he only gets to see during cultural education. 

[Stupid, worthless, no-good, goddamn freeloading son of a bitch.] 

Adam's eyes are glazed over, slightly, as if he's looking past the monitor into something else entirely rather than observing the movie for indications of social interaction, classic quotes, or anything of that nature. 

[ _You forgot ugly, lazy, and disrespectful._ ]

In short, for the first time, Adam is not working, and it surprises Santos. 

Santos debates what to do with this while the movie plays on in the background. He could let it slide, since Adam is normally constantly on his game, never off, and cultural education is a relatively minor lesson set for Adam. It's just a time of day for him to watch movies and television, read books, and learn about the world around him the way that kids his age would be doing in their down-time. It was made available to Adam for the reason of making sure he was decently adjusted and able to communicate with the average person once the invasion was over, and on a day to day basis. 

[ _No, dad, what about you?_ ]

"Adam?" 

Adam jumps. 

"Yessir!" 

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Of course, sir."

"Do you need to take a break?"

"No, sir."

Santos pauses the film. 

"You seem distracted." 

Adam flushes, embarrassed. 

"Sorry, sir, it won't happen again." 

Santos watches him suspiciously. 

"You're allowed to tell us if something concerns you, you know." 

"I do, sir." 

"All of the caretakers have you as their first priority, Adam." 

"I know, sir." 

"If you insist," Santos says, noting this for report later. 

"Try and pay attention, now." 

"Sir?" Adam asks, before Santos unpauses the film. 

"Is it really not possible to watch previous films again? I could gain a new understanding of them..." 

"I'll ask the colonel," Santos says, compromising. 

"Thank you, sir." 

This seems to please Adam, who sits up straighter. Santos makes a note to himself to, on a suspicion, put the idea of a room check into the colonel's head.

"How much did you miss?" 

"Bender's talking about his family, sir."

"Okay, so you're keeping up fine enough. Good job." 

"Yes sir!" 

Santos unpauses the film.

[ _-Is that for real?_

 _You wanna come over sometime?_ ]

Now, Adam pays attention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bookmark/comment/kudos and my tumblr is letthelazerteamlive!


	9. Cultural Education: Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Sometimes it feels like it is over and it's not.  
> Sometimes it feels like it has just begun and it's over."
> 
> \--Juliana Spahr, _Turnt_

It's La Casa and Santos who find it in a routine check of Adam's room while he's out training. 

Room checks, Adam knows, are part of his rules- he's not to have contraband, like alcohol or weapons, and to make sure of that, he gets his room checked. 

Some types of contraband are less dangerous and more confusing than others. 

In this case, La Casa and Santos find a poster that's folded neatly and tucked under Adam's mattress, and it looks very familiar. 

"What do we do about this?" La Casa asks, and Santos shrugs. 

"We have to report it, but it does seem a little...cruel. He's twelve, almost thirteen, of course he's gonna have a crush-" 

"Diego," La Casa interrupts. "We have to tell the colonel." 

"Yeah, but what's he gonna do about it, beat it out of the kid? We have to ask him to at least give us a chance to talk to Adam first, so we don't mess him up." 

"You mean you think he's emotionally attached and this isn't just some kind of material for-" 

"Probably, yeah." 

"Fine," La Casa says, taking the poster. "You tell the colonel what you're thinking."

-

"You found what?" 

"A poster, sir." 

"Of what?" 

"Lieutenant Ripley in the film Alien, sir." 

The colonel pauses. 

"And you think we shouldn't just take it?" 

"Respectfully, no sir." Santos shifts slightly. "Permission to speak freely?" 

"Of course." 

"He could be emotionally attached to the idea as well, doing this could make him angry with us. He doesn't see anyone his age, of course he'd develop an attachment to a culture hero he feels he can relate to." 

"How do you mean that he can relate?" 

"Well sir, the general plot of these Alien movies is that Ripley is forced to fight an alien she knows nothing to very little about, a hundred times stronger than her, to keep it from getting to earth and from destroying others. Which is something he would relate to, given his training and job." 

"I see," the colonel says, and he thinks for a moment. "Can you talk to him about this like you said?" 

"Of course, sir." 

"Santos, do you think this interest is primarily romantic, sexual, or one of idolatry?" 

"Hard to say without asking him, sir. However, he's old enough for it to be one of the first two, and, if it is, simply punishing him would be a dangerous move to make, which could undo all the work we've done training him." 

"You're correct, Santos," the colonel says. "I want you to talk to him. Press whether this feeling is romantic or sexual. We can live with idolatry. The other two will be harder to cope with." 

"Yessir."

-

"Adam?" 

Adam is feeling around under his mattress when Santos knocks on the doorframe. Adam straightens up. 

"Yessir!" 

"La Casa and I found the poster."

Adam flushes, and shifts in place. 

"Are you mad?" 

Santos shakes his head.

"Can I ask why you have it?" 

Adam shrugs. "I...don't know. I assumed it was what the soldiers call a crush, but...I don't know. I'm not really interested in kissing her, or anything, I just feel...something." 

"Is it-"

Adam shakes his head. "No sir, it's not like the photos some of the other soldiers keep in their bunks. Of naked girls. It's not like that."

Adam finishes, then flinches. 

"Sorry for interrupting, sir."

"That's alright, Adam," Santos says, waving it off. 

"I don't really know about girls," Adam says. "Maybe it's because I haven't really met any. But...none of this is any excuse, sir, for stealing the poster from your VCR and hiding it. It won't happen again."

"I'll take it back, Adam." 

"Of course, sir." 

"I'll have to report to the colonel," Santos says. "But you won't be punished, okay? Promise." 

"Thank you, sir," Adam says. 

Santos leaves, and Adam lies down on his bed, wondering once again what the colonel thinks of him.

-

"And you're sure he's not lying?"

"Yes sir, I am." 

The colonel looks at the poster once more. 

"Santos, do you mind not getting this back?" 

"No sir." 

"I'm going to keep this for the report," the colonel says. 

"I'll buy another one, sir." 

"Thank you, Santos," the colonel says.

\- 

The poster is faded now, the folds turning white where the colors wore off. Emory unfolds it carefully, looking at the paintinglike details of the hair, the eyes, the skin. 

Adam felt something for this woman, a fictional portrayal constructed by an actor a thousand miles from where Emory is now sitting.

There's something so human about the idea that Adam had a hero, if not a crush, a hero. 

Emory folds the poster back up and replaces it in the folder next to a quick paragraph he wrote about ten years ago recording the incident. 

He's failed to record or capture the life of it. It's a report, not a novella.

He puts that aside to rewrite, years after, just so he can save that memory in case these files aren't released until long after he's gone. 

The next file starts dated 1995. 

_Dec. 29 1996. 15th birthday._

_Feb. 13 1997. At the advice of Dr._ ████████ _Adam will be given a short break for psychological reasons (ie, extreme stress) spanning from Feb. 16-Feb. 26..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bookmark! Kudos! Comment! or send your reactions and questions to the source at letthelazerteamlive dot tumblr dot com!


	10. Looking Back or Around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "And Lot's wife, of course, was told not to look back where all those people and their homes had been. But she did look back, and I love her for that, because it was so human."
> 
> \--Kurt Vonnegut, _Slaughterhouse-Five_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This arc and the concluding arc more like d-d-d-drop the pain 
> 
> Also, I didn't realize I had accidentally put this arc in...a certain spot in the timeline. You'll see. It'll be woven throughout the arc slightly. 
> 
> Sometimes you just don't realize things are connected.

The full story is not recorded in the files. It's a pity that the following died with Adam. 

They say Adam is stressed but he's not sure what to think. He doesn't feel necessarily stressed- at least, not the kind of stress that hits when you have to do a lot of things in very little time. 

The base psychologists dedicated to making sure he's okay insist that he needs a break, but he doesn't really have much to do- at least, he doesn't until on the second day of leave, he's watching movies he's seen before and wondering what the outside is like. 

The caretakers have told him about the outside. La Casa has explained that they're in Milford, Texas, United States of America. Santos has talked to him about what the town of Milford is like- small, everyone-knows-everyone-tangentially sort of place. Middle American. Lexington has told him how there's not that much entertainment available in Milford proper, so anyone who wants to do anything has to head out to Ruby Lakes or a nearby, larger town. 

Adam's fifteen, now, and in his mind that's so close to being an adult. He wants to see the world, or something of it, something that isn't a film. 

Getting out of this place is not hard. He knows by now when everyone moves around, what's happening around him. He's been trained to be an elite and observant operative, surely he can make it. 

And if not, he can lie appropriately about his intentions. 

He waits until a Friday evening. 

Friday is the least busy day of the week. Or, the day in which it's easiest to slip out. The footsoldiers aren't paying attention, they're busy hailing the weekend with booze and talk of girls. 

Adam's supposed to have a lights-out at 8:30 nightly, and he's never broken this before, so he can expect La Casa, whose shift it is, to not keep an eye on him and be gone within twenty minutes, which she is. 

Adam stuffs his sheets to imitate the shape of his body, and adjusts the fan he's left for hotter nights to make the upper sheet move and imitate his breaths.

Sneaking past patrols and the like is easy, child's play for Adam, no pun intended. 

It's chilly outside, the base's floodlights turning night into day with their brightness. Adam feels goosebumps pop up all along his skin.

Adam found a tear in the fence around the perimeter while running a week ago. He makes his way into the darkness, away from the base, and towards his path to the outside.

The hole in the fence is just big enough for him to squeeze through. 

On this side of the base, there's just forest, but Adam walks for what feels like half an hour until he finds road. 

He follows the road to the lights of a town. 

He's cold, but he's tolerating it, he's learned to live with minor discomfort. Besides, he's on high alert internally, too wired to think about or notice that he's shivering slightly. 

Milford's main street, which he finally reaches, is lit with a warm glow. It's not that late at night, about 9:20, a clock in a storefront confirms for him. Adam knows he has to be home by daybreak, or else, so in that case, he has plenty of time. 

Adam's not sure what he wants to experience first, but for one, it looks like there's not that many people out. He can't imagine why- it's Friday night, after all. 

He wanders the streets until he reaches what signs inform him is the high school. Cars are parked outside for blocks, and this, he assumes, is where everyone is. 

There's a police officer sitting outside, and Adam is at first cautious, until the guy gets his attention. 

"Hey, kid. You lost?" 

Adam shakes his head and tries to lie convincingly. 

"No, sir. What's...happening tonight?" 

The officer raises his eyebrows. 

"The championship, son. Mustangs are going further'n ever before thanks to that boy runner, what's his name, the Texas Tornado." 

Adam looks up at the stadium. 

"So everyone's watching that?" 

"They are," the officer confirms. Adam nods, and makes his escape.

"Thank you."

Adam suspects he won't be able to get in without amounts of cunning he's not willing to expend, or a ticket, which costs money he doesn't have. 

Something strikes him, though, about the simplicity and innocence of these people. They've never known that the end of the world as they know it is coming...in the future. Adam doesn't quite know when. 

It could come tonight, but he doesn't think it will. The colonel will tell him when it's time for him to take the suit. 

He's going to save all these people. That's what they've been telling him since he was small. 

So why does he feel the need to see their world before he can save it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bookmark/comment/leave kudos if you liked and my tumblr is letthelazerteamlive! I will GLADLY take questions about this fic and my other lazer team hcs.


	11. I'm Nobody, who are You?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "So she was turned into a pillar of salt. So it goes."
> 
> \--Kurt Vonnegut, _Slaughterhouse-Five_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I’m Nobody! Who are you?_   
>  _Are you – Nobody – too?_   
>  _Then there’s a pair of us!_   
>  _Don’t tell! they’d advertise – you know!_
> 
> _How dreary – to be – Somebody!_   
>  _How public – like a Frog –_   
>  _To tell one’s name – the livelong June –_   
>  _To an admiring Bog!_
> 
> \--Emily Dickinson

Adam's walking back to town when he hears sirens. 

They're loud- loud enough that he flinches as they pass by. Adam remembers one of the doctors teaching him about the doppler effect. 

It's an ambulance, he observes, and watches it race away from him. 

It doesn't really occur to him to wonder what's happened. Then he sees a beat-up car following the ambulance closely. 

His face creases slightly. He hopes that whoever it is, they're okay. 

They're coming from the direction of the high school, he thinks, which makes sense given that most of the town is there as far as he knows. 

He lingers looking at darkened storefronts (where the owners are probably watching the game), and loks at the items there, trying to understand the significance that they hold. 

He sees some computers for what's really the first time, bulky monitors and dirty yellow keyboards that he knows are vastly outstripped by the technology available to him on the base. 

He sees televisions, walls of them, bright and entrancing images projected to try and convince the viewer that the picture quality on that screen was the best of the day. 

He sees other things he doesn't understand- there's a chocolate store, which still boasts some decorations tangential to Valentine's Day (Adam remembers Valentine's day was not too long ago because Santos and La Casa took the day off). Adam has never really eaten chocolate, so he wonders what it tastes like. The store is closed, and he doesn't have any money, anyway. He tries to imagine what chocolate tastes like, in that case. 

In his head it's smooth and creamy and sugary, even though sugar is generally outlawed in his military diet he knows enough about it to imagine it into chocolate. 

He wonders if he could ask La Casa to let him try some chocolate, since he's on leave. Just once, so he can taste it. 

Ice cream, too, Adam thinks he would like to try ice cream. Maybe chocolate-flavored ice cream. He's not sure yet. 

Finally, he gets to the city park. There's a large clock tower, benches, and dark grass. There are streetlamps, and the moon is bright, giving him more than enough light to sit down on a bench near a fountain and appreciate that for the first time in his life he's away from the base. Away from the colonel; away from La Casa, Santos, and Lexington; away from the doctors. Away from the expectations.

Here he is nobody. And it's a dizzying feeling.

Adam waits in the city park, watching the moon cross the sky, until someone comes across him. It's a girl in a cheerleader outfit wearing a varsity jacket to stay warm. 

"You okay?" she asks, and she sits down next to him. 

He nods. 

"Just...passing through here." 

"So you're waiting on a park bench?" 

"It seems I decided to go out at a bad time," he admits awkwardly. "Since everyone is at the game." 

"No one's at the game anymore," she says, averting her eyes. He notices that her ponytail is coming apart. 

"Why is that? Is it over?" 

"It might as well be," she says. 

"Oh." He's not sure what she means. 

"Did you win?" 

"We lost, actually," she says. "In...more ways than one." 

"I'm sorry about that, miss." 

"What do you have to be sorry about?" she asks. "You didn't play." 

"I-I guess I didn't, miss." 

"So it's not your fault, but I appreciate the sympathy." 

Adam shifts in place. He's still good at reading people, of course, it's still a survival skill for him, and he can tell this girl is unhappy. 

"Is...something the matter, miss? Apart from the team losing?" 

She sighs. 

"Our star player broke his leg in the fourth quarter. He's getting it looked at right now." 

"I hope he'll be okay," Adam says slowly. 

"His best friend- my boyfriend- is with him right now." 

"I see. I'm sor- uh, my sympathies then, miss?" 

She'll probably forget this, he thinks, he's not coming back here again. On the base he is Adam, defender of earth. In Milford, he is Nobody. He thinks of readings that the scientists have given him about being nobody, and how he has never comprehended the idea up until now. 

He's nobody- who is she?

"How old are you?" she asks. "You look like you can't be much younger'n me but you keep using the 'miss.' It's fine, you can go ahead and call me Marina." 

"Of course, mi-Marina." 

"Thanks." She pauses. "What's your name? Even though you're passing through." 

He pauses. Can he tell her? Is there a point? 

"Adam." 

"Miss- Marina?" 

"Yes?" 

Adam looks up, before cautiously asking her a question. 

"Is it wrong to have doubts about something you're meant to do?" 

"I don't think so," she replies. "That just makes you human." 

Adam nods slowly. 

"And...do you think humans are essentially good creatures? Do you think this world is worth something?" 

She laughs softly. 

"That's a heavy question, Adam." 

He notices one of her hands drifting towards her stomach which, now that he looks, is not flat, and swells some. 

"I think that it is, yes." 

Adam nods slowly. 

"Thank you." 

"I have no idea why you're asking me," she laughs. "But that's what I think." 

Adam looks up at the clock tower in the park, and it's quickly approaching one-thirty. 

He stands up. 

"My apologies, miss- Marina. I have to go." 

"Home before morning, Cinderella?" 

Adam blinks, surprised. 

"Something...something like that, yes." 

She waves as he leaves. 

He looks back, and waves too, awkwardly. 

He remembers the way back home. 


	12. Excelsior

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "People aren't supposed to look back. I'm certainly not going to do it anymore."
> 
> \--Kurt Vonnegut, _Slaughterhouse-Five_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This concludes the teenage!Adam arc and leads us quite nicely into the adult!Adam that's gonna close out this story. This is where I have more inspiration, so I'm absolutely certain I'll finish this before the new year.

It's approaching three when Adam sneaks back in. He finds the rip in the fence again, and makes his way back to his room. He's asleep as soon as he gets his sheets fixed, and is woken up by Santos at six in the morning, as usual. He sits up. 

"How are you feeling, Adam."

"Very tired, sir," Adam says, before lying by omission. 

"I couldn't sleep very well last night. Am I permitted to sleep more?" 

"Sure," Santos says, "They've put you on leave for a reason. Go back to sleep and when you're ready you can have another break day." 

Adam sleeps through noon. He dreams of everything he knows about football. He imagines that the energy at that game, before everything went wrong, was infectious. People outside the base don't have to think like he does. 

He does, they tell him, so that they don't have to. 

Adam wakes up in the afternoon and walks to the mess hall, where La Casa and Santos have asked that they hold a lunch for him. 

It's mashed potatoes, peas, and ham. Adam eats it, lost in his own thoughts. 

He can't stop thinking about the town. The people. Yesterday night, at their game, having no idea of things he's known his whole life. 

He wonders what would happen if he unloaded his thoughts on one of them. On Marina, if he had had the thought last night. 

They'd probably dismiss him as seven kinds of crazy, and Adam...probably couldn't blame them if he wanted to. 

He can't conceive of another life, but he imagines that they can't imagine his, either. It's not in their worldview. 

Santos lets him watch Alien again. Adam has seen the movie several times.

Adam thinks, out of anyone, he would talk to Ripley about his concerns, his doubts, the things he would never tell the caretakers or the colonel. 

He wishes he could.

-

On the last day of his break, Adam is interviewed by one of the psychologists in a small room with one mirror. Adam's observant and experienced enough to know that that's to hide the amount of people watching him. 

The colonel probably is, he muses, and one or more of the caretakers. Maybe it's La Casa. He doesn't know their shift schedule as much as he used to now that he's older. 

"Adam, do you know why we gave you a break?"

"Extreme stress, sir." 

"Yes, you had started to display symptoms of stress. Can you explain why that is?" 

Adam pauses. 

"I was uncertain about my future, sir. I was worried that...I wouldn't measure up to expectations." 

"So you felt pressured."

"Yessir, I did." 

"Do you feel less pressure now?" 

Adam pauses. Does he? 

"I'm not sure I do, but I'm- I am now more confident than ever that Earth needs me to save it. My whole life I have done everything in my power to make sure that I can be that person. As I'm told, I'm the person with the ability to. And my test scores climb closer to perfect every day. So no sir, I don't feel less pressure, but I do feel more secure in my ability to preform." 

Adam doesn't often smile, but a tight smile feels almost tonally appropriate. 

"Doubting myself and considering my situation is not going to help me. In the near future, I'm going to be informed that it's time for me to do my job, and I'm going to have to do it. If not, I am not the only one who faces consequences. It's time for me to step up, sir, for the fate of the earth." 

The doctor seems pleased, which gratifies Adam, whose true talent is guessing people's expectations and preforming in them. 

"One more thing, Adam."

"Yessir." 

"Have you ever seriously doubted that the Earth is a place worth saving?" 

Adam processes this question. 

He has, of course. He's seen things in the movies that would make anyone a little wary. He's seen things in his readings, in history and writing. 

Then he remembers the girl from the park- Marina. She was pregnant, he thinks, with a child. That is, at least, what he suspected. 

He doesn't know what she's going to do with it, but she seemed like she was going to have it. 

Adam is good at reading people, generally he is, but all he can do about Marina is conjecture. He doesn't quite get why, but he feels a pull of responsibility towards that child. Maybe it's that because of him, billions of people- millions of children- are going to get a life. Like the caretakers and doctors have explained. 

Adam is going to fight so that no one else has to. Adam was chosen. He's going to save the world for everyone. Adam is going to ensure the future of the entire planet. 

Adam sits up straighter. He doesn't lie, typically, if he does it is normally by omission. He knows what's expected, what he's supposed to say, and it is close to the truth enough that he thinks it isn't important that anyone knows. 

No one needs to be concerned with this...small crisis of faith. 

"No, sir, I haven't."

- 

None of this, then, is recorded in the files. Adam's doubts and his secrets died with him. 

Colonel Emory wonders if he had any, but now no one can ever truly say. It's all conjecture past the files. 

The files cover an innocuous decade. Adam turns 18 in 2000, he stays on the base and continues his training. 

In 2006, the files begin to tell a better story. 

_Suit of Power enters Solar System_

_Projected Arrival date: Jan. 15, 2016_

_Coordinates of Milford, TX Facility have been broadcast to vessel for landing:_ ██.██.██

_PP-001 to be notified as soon as coordinates are confirmed by Antarian vessel._


	13. Champion/s of Earth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "...And though it's clichéd, truth  
> be told, I wish one could keep her boys  
> from growing old and going off to die."
> 
> \--Katrina Roberts, _Guns_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the adult Adam arc, begun. Don't worry about where this is going. Don't worry about it! Really, don't.

They inform Adam two months before the suit falls. 

Adam is anxious, well, anxious mixed with excited, and that grows as the night approaches. 

The colonel gives a speech, then. 

"Tonight, earth will have its-"

He's interrupted by a distant phwee-boom and the spark of light across the sky. 

"Who the hell authorized fireworks?" 

The colonel doesn't sound distressed, Adam thinks, more angry than anything. 

"It's probably civilians, sir," Adam suggests. "We could contact the Milford Police-" 

The colonel looks at the sky. 

"They seem to have stopped for now. Proceed with preparations, Adam."

"Yessir." 

Adam watches with horror when he sees, from a distance, the ship carrying the suit come down. 

"Vandenboom, go get it before anyone else can! Take whoever you need!" 

"Yes sir!" 

"Sir, can I-" 

"You need to stay here," the colonel interrupts. "We have to keep you safe, Adam. Vandenboom can bring it back here." 

"Yessir." 

Adam paces in the command room (where the colonel immediately retreats to, taking Adam with him) until they hear a radio call from Vandenboom. 

"Sir, they've already donned the suit, how should we proceed?" 

This is the first time Adam has ever heard the colonel swear. "Fuck," he mutters. 

Adam feels rage boil in his gut- he can't quite process what he just heard. 

"Take them in." 

Adam looks at the colonel. 

"Sir, permission to speak freely?"

"Go ahead."

"Did you just hear what I just heard? They took the suit. My suit!" 

"We'll have to see what we can-" 

"Respectfully, sir, that suit is mine. It's my birthright. Who do these-- nobodies think they are, taking it-"

"Calm down, Adam," the colonel says. "We have to examine our options." 

"We have no options," Adam growls to himself. "I am our options." 

"Vandenboom, ETA!" 

"Ten minutes, sir." 

"Good. Have the men take them to the interrogation room on base. Adam, with me."

"Yes sir," Vandenboom says over the radio. 

"Yessir," Adam says, and follows the colonel.

-

"They're idiots," Adam seethes to Vandenboom after the four idiots have been put away. 

"They don't seem all bad." 

It's late now, past six in the morning at least. Neither one of them have slept. 

Most of the caretakers have retired, now, given that Adam's a grown man and doesn't really need them anymore. Vandenboom has replaced them, but he acts as more of a confidante and quasi-friend than a parental figure. 

"They're idiots and thieves." 

"They might be able to learn something." 

"In five days? With the suit split? The only way to save the planet is me."

"Unless we find a way to get the suit off of them, you're gonna have to teach them." 

"Fine," Adam snaps. 

"You're going to have to go get them soon." 

"What, what time is it?" 

"-five-twenty-six." 

"And they were supposed to start at?" 

"0500." 

"Christ," Adam hisses. "Fine, Vandenboom, I'll give them a fucking chance. You'd better hope for the sake of the entire planet that they're not as idiotic as they seem."

Adam is already pretty secure, though, in the idea of what he's going to find.

-

They're completely incompetent, and Adam knew it. There's an itch of rage inside of him that he can't get out, because not only has someone taken what's his, it's of such gravity that it's going to destroy the world. 

Adam tries- he tries- to convince the colonel that they need to cut the pieces off. He fails, of course, because the colonel insists that they need to just try harder. 

And the idiots, (ignorance is bliss, Adam supposes) are arguing over their fucking superhero names.

"Nobody cares about the name!" Adam finally snaps. 

"I'm going to teach you about a suit function called the dark matter ray, possibly the only way of defeating the worg-"

As Adam rambles (he can recite anything about the suit on autopilot) he appreciates that for once, for goddamn once, the idiots are quiet. Quieter than usual, in fact. Almost unnaturally quiet. 

But why should Adam care if they're not paying attention? He does want them to fail, after all. Watching them fail to form the dark matter ray would be great. 

"Come here you son of a bitch-" 

That causes much more sick satisfaction for Adam than he entirely thought it would. Even now, he surprises himself. 

Adam looks at the soldiers- his subordinates, now. 

"Take them back to their room." 

Adam's going to have his suit soon. It makes his mouth twitch as soon as the idiots are out of his line of sight.

Of course, how often does Adam get what he wants in this stupid little venture? 

Not that often.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bookmark/comment/kudos if ya liked, and my tumblr is letthelazerteamlive!


	14. Poo-Tee-Weet?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "...there is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre. Everybody is supposed to be dead, to never say anything or want anything ever again. Everything is supposed to be very quiet after a massacre, and it always is, except for the birds.  
> And what do the birds say? All there is to say about a massacre, things like 'Poo-tee-weet?'" 
> 
> \--Kurt Vonnegut, _Slaughterhouse-Five_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember how I said not to worry about Adam? I may have lied. A little.

"They what?" 

"Broke out of the hospital, sir," the private says. The colonel is, again, unreadable to Adam. Adam punches a desk so hard it dents. 

"Adam, please bend that metal drawer back to shape." 

"Yessir," Adam growls angrily. 

"I don't know why you're surprised, Adam," the colonel says, and Adam looks up at him. 

"Why, sir?"

"Most people tend to fight the idea of losing a limb," the colonel points out, "Particularly where decapitation is concerned.

"But they're not a team," Adam grouses. "They don't care about each other, why would they-"

"Self-preservation," The colonel says as a reminder. "They're not useful when they're separated. Whether they like it or not, they're together now." 

Adam snorts loudly. 

"Seems more like they don't."

"I think they may surprise us yet." 

"What makes you say that, sir?" 

The colonel hands Adam a file. 

"They're Milford natives, do you think we wouldn't know everything about them? We could tell you anything about anyone in this town, birth to death, if applicable. You can read it and rethink your attitude, or you can not. Either way, we have bigger issues." 

The colonel exits to speak to Vandenboom, and Adam feels a guilty sting in his gut- not that he's guilty for hurting the idiots, but that he's disappointed someone. He doesn't do that, it never happens. 

Adam picks up the file and opens it. 

-

_Zachary "Zach" Spencer_

_Born: 3/19/96_

_Relations: Abigail Spencer (mother), Shane Spencer (father)_

_Occupation: Milford H.S. student, football player (quarterback)_

_Summary: Spencer is your sterotypical jock, but many things about him seem to not quite add up, personality-wise. His actions seem to be based in thrill-seeking of some sort (it is impossible to tell without one-on-one analysis, which has not been recorded), but mediated with a degree of morality. During psychological evaluation as part of Project Perseus Revision I, this is likely to be a form of ADHD (further testing required). Shows some (albeit likely repressed) sympathy for smaller things (friendliness to children is noted). Would likely act on a perceived moral system given a serious situation._

_Binge-drinking noted prior to induction to Project Perseus._

_Parents are All-American- involved in local Baptist Church, highly religious, socially & economically conservative and strict. They are no longer on good terms with Spencer after multiple failures to curb risk-taking behavior. Arguments were recorded often. Parental discontent bordering on what is illegal conduct have been observed more than once. _

_Marked as unlikely to be approved for Project Perseus._

_Woodrow "Woody" Johnson_

_Born: 5/16/95_

_Relations: Joanna Johnson (mother), Herbert Johnson (father)_

_Occupation: Milford H.S Water Boy_

_Summary: Johnson has displayed signs of learning difficulties from a young age, which have gone untreated excepting for acknowledgment thereof. No official acknowledgment has been recorded. Johnson has a cheerful and friendly disposition with repeat notes of this from multiple occasions and sources. At an unknown point, fell in with H. Mendoza. Outwardly, this seems to be an odd alliance and overall an unhealthy one. However, closer examination shows previously unrecognized potential in this friendship._

_Parents are poor blue-collar workers, economically conservative, providing very little support or guidance, or even structure. Need of a caretaker is likely, and noted as such._

_Since obtaining helmet of P.P. suit of power, Johnson's overall classic intelligence has improved exponentially. Is more prone to logical analysis of situations off the bat. Due to lack of athleticism, coordination, and the like, not recommended for P.P, but not the best option, either. Examination to determine nature and depth of developmental difficulties recommended._

_Anthony Hagan_

_Born: 7/24/79_

_Relations: Mindy Hagan (daughter), Marina MacArthur (ex-wife, formerly Marina Hagan)_

_Occupation: Milford P.D. deputy_

Adam blinks, surprised. Surely it couldn't be the same Marina. What a small world.

_Summary: Former football player at Milford High. After the accident that crippled Herman Mendoza, married Marina MacArthur and had one child, both were approx. 19 years of age. Applied for a job with the police department, went to school, and was subsequently hired._

_Small towns remember- jabs have been noted from multiple sources regarding perceived failure to prevent accident of 2/21/97. Most common is use of the nickname "half-ass Hagan" (sp.?) (origin unclear)._

_According to P.P examination depression is likely. Unresolved issues with Herman Mendoza (nature?) Very little is known, despite Hagan being the most relatively open._

_Herman Mendoza_

_Born: 10/31/79_

_Relations: None living_

_Occupation: None_

_Summary: 2/21/97 football accident left with broken leg, some torn nerves, permanent limp. Symptoms of depression have been displayed prior to P.P. analysis and this interpretation has been strengthened._

_After treatment and physical therapy, limp decreased but has never been eradicated (until introduction of boots of power)._

_Alcoholic behaviors and repeated arrests for public drunkenness has been noted (although contact with A. Hagan has been minimal. Avoidance?)_

_Often private, information on is minimal._

_-_

Adam shuffles through these folders again. What did the colonel mean, that they had potential? Even reading this (after having seen and cringed at their test scores) his confidence doesn't increase.

Adam is sorting carefully through his cultural education- surely something he learned there will explain what's happening, here.

Before he can draw a conclusion, Vandenbloom is talking to him. 

"Adam, Colonel Emory, you might...want to see this."

Adam sets the folders down. 

"See what?" 

"Um, Hagan's daughter posted this on youtube not too long ago, and our searches turned it up. It's...you're gonna have to see it."

Adam walks over, and folds his arms. 

"What."

-

For Adam, the video might be what he needed to make what the colonel was picking up on click. 

Teamwork. The potential was there. 

Adam had watched them interact and thought that there was no way in hell these four were ever going to reconcile their differences and get to be suitable fighters in five days, but maybe he was wrong. Clearly pressure was making them better than he had ever thought they could be. 

A team of misfits. This was common in his cultural education. Adam had always thought that this particular concept would not apply to real life- teams needed structure, a leader, to trust and obey each other without question. 

But these four were doing just fine, actually. Maybe fucking up a lot more than he would, but surviving a lot better than he could have ever conceived. 

Adam thinks he actually has a fraction of faith in them.

Dammit, now he's invested. 

"Adam, we've tracked them to the high school, are you coming?" 

"Yes, I'm coming." 

- 

The colonel asks where the others are. Having just one is useless, after all, they need the set. 

"They're gone," Hagan says, and Adam passes him to look at one of the weapons on the ground used by the...Adam assumes they were sent by the worg. 

He picks up the gun, examining it. It's not like he can tell anything about it, but maybe the worg has a similar weapon. 

"Just...cut this thing off of me and give it to someone who deserves it."

Something about that makes Adam feel both upset and guilty, like he wants to shove the shield gauntlet back to Hagan and tell him not to say that. 

He shouldn't, but he does, and he doesn't speak for the moment. 

Once they're back at the base, Adam takes his chance. He's snuck out once before, he can do it again. 

(Adam has never known the colonel to have a sense of humor, but he's right. Adam is finally listening to the idea that there might be something to this 'Lazer Team', and he thinks it might be their only chance.) 

And Adam- Adam has always been good at knowing what people want. From him, in general, Adam's been trained all his life to preform in that aspect. He's going to tell Hagan what he thinks the guy wants (or even needs) to hear.

"Oh great. It's you. Come to gloat?"

Okay, maybe he deserves that. Maybe he really does.

"No. I came to get you out." 

Maybe this destroys the earth, but at least they get to fight, first.

-

At first, Adam is surprised to finally be in the stadium. 

Then things start coming out, one after the other, and Adam starts to feel...bitter, again, but not towards them.

This is a game. 

Adam has been training and fighting all his life, and then his suit was stolen, and he's been raised to fight and kill and possibly die for a game. 

A bracket, even. 

He wants to vomit, but he can't yet- the team needs him.

Directing them is helping, but they're still slipping. They're going to lose if they don't fire the dark matter ray, if they don't- 

Adam is digging through the back of the police car they just borrowed to drive into the stadium. There's a riot shield, padding, a shotgun- the padding and shield is easy, and Adam's been raised in the military, when hasn't he been trained with guns. 

There. This is enough to be his distraction.

No time to think now. Adam spins, cocks the shotgun, and hits the worg in its helmet. 

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

It laughs. Adam fires again, then ducks behind his shield and keeps firing. 

"Adam, what are you doing?"

"I'm buying you time! Get ready to use the dark matter cannon!" 

Adam fires again. This doesn't seem to be doing much damage, at all, but that doesn't matter. 

"We don't know how!" 

"No, but it does!"

That's when Adam's strategy rotates. He dodges a blast from the worg, hurls his shield, and fires another shot.

Adam then takes the gun into both hands and continues to fire.

"Adam, don't!"

Adam ignores that- what could ostensibly be considered an order- for the first time in his life.

"Come on, you want the earth, you gotta go through me first!"

That's when Adam sees the dark matter ray initiate. 

Perfect.

Adam looks back at the team- he wonders if it's okay that he thinks of them as, well, being his team for a short while. Woody is watching intently, analyzing, Adam is sure, and the others look...horrified. 

But Adam is okay. He knows what he's doing.

Adam nods. 

Woody nods too.

"Adam, you're the one who's supposed to save the planet!" 

"I think I just did." 

And that's when it ends. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter (an epilogue) and then we're done! 
> 
> Please continue to leave those kudos, comments, bookmarks, they sERIOUSLY mean the universe to me.


	15. Epilogue: ...Pro Patria Mori

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "My friend, you would not tell with such high zest   
> To children ardent for some desperate glory   
> The old lie: _dulce et decorum est_ [it is sweet and fitting]  
>  _Pro Patria mori._ [to die for your country]."
> 
> \--Wilfred Owen, _Dulce Et Decorum Est_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, the conclusion! 
> 
> I've had a good good time painting this word picture here. I take requests over on my tumblr (letthelazerteamlive) so if you wanna see a lazer team short just pop over there and throw it at me. I love writing LT so there's a good good chance I'll paint you a little word picture!

Colonel Emory is tired. 

It's dawn, now, he's spent what remains of the night reading Adam's files. 

He has to think about what to do now. There's probably more things he has to do now that it's morning. 

No rest for the weary, he thinks.

He has to find Vandenboom. He wants to appoint him to be in charge of the more miniscule, day-to-day things in dealing with the team. 

They need a new trainer. He's going to have to find someone. There's no-one he has in mind at this point, but he can ask Vandenboom to find someone and approve an option. 

Adam being gone is kind of...incomprehensible at this point, but they have to move forwards. Right? They have to.

"Colonel Emory," a secretary says, a different one. He seems concerned to interrupt. 

"Yes?" 

"We've assembled plans for the space mission. You'll have to debrief the, um, lazer team at 0700 about...the general idea. Of the space mission. And-- it's 0642 now, sir."

"Thank you," Emory says. He puts down the most current files, which are only some hours old, fresh-printed and put by one of the archival staff into this box of

Project Perseus history. 

A thirty-year-monument to what a human can truly do with their body and mind, torn down in five days and replaced with...this. 

Adam's bitterness in the days prior to his death just seems...understandable now. 

Everything about what Adam did seems more understandable. Except dying.

"And...what would you like to be done with those files, sir." 

Emory pauses, and then sighs. 

"Keep...keep them, for now. I'll have to discuss them with the generals, and with the president."

"Yessir."

As the secretary begins to pack up the files, Emory leaves. 

Secretly, ideally, he wants to send those files to Mr. and Mrs. Evers. So that they can know that their son saved the earth, that he was a good person. But they can't have publicity on what they did to get a perfect soldier like Adam. 

Not even the team, he thinks, can know the whole story, and anyone who worked at the base during Adam's life would be legally bound from disclosing details. To anyone.

In short? Only a few hundred people are going to get to know that Adam even existed. 

The team- Adam, he remembers, called them 'the idiots' to him once, although clearly his views had changed towards the end- were waiting for him.

"What the fuck was that," Herman blurts. "Space? What the fuck?" 

"Yeah man, don't fuckin say shit for us-" Zach adds, before Emory holds up one hand and they fall silent, albeit with irritation in the air. 

"We saw the bracket. We're getting transmissions from the antarians non-stop explaining the next step, and we're not going to place our money on you beating an unnamed number of other civilizations. We have to have a way out or all of this means nothing." 

Woody blinks, in the deep, stare-though-your-soul way he's developed that lets someone know he's analyzing them or analyzing something with the helmet. 

"It has been a tiring night," Woody says diplomatically. "Are we to be permitted to go home, sir?" 

A lesser man would comment on the fact that 3/4 of this team don't necessarily have what could be considered a home better than this base, due to the fact that said lesser man would be tired and exhausted and dealing with the death of the child that he spent 30-some years with. 

"Fine," Emory mutters tiredly. 

"We have some plans for the future, but nothing solidified yet. I need you to tell me one thing."

"Yes sir," Woody says tactfully, and Emory sighs. 

"I'd like to ask you to try not to make Adam's sacrifice worthless." 

-

The last traces of dawn are leaving the sky when the team steps out of the base. 

"What now?" Zach asks, always the one to say what the others are stepping around. 

"We go home?" Woody asks, nervous. Zach flinches slightly. 

"Yeah, as much as I want a serious bed, I dunno about that." 

Their moods draw concern from Hagan, always the dad. 

"I...have to get home to make sure Mindy is okay," he says, rubbing his shield arm (sore from holding up against too many hits without practice). 

"Can I hitch with you," Zach says, tiredness evident in his voice. 

Hagan shifts in place. 

"...sure." 

"Come on, Woody, they said they have my car." 

"Wait a minute," Hagan says. "About what happened the other night-"

"What about it."

Everyone is awkwardly quiet for a few beats. 

"What about Adam." 

"He did what he thought was right," Herman says with a small gesture. 

"He saved us," Woody says in a small voice. "He saved everyone." 

"He did."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you appreciated this fic, at the time of my posting or in posterity, please leave me a comment or kudos, or even bookmark it even though I'm done updating. It means the entire world to me! 
> 
> Also, since it's the 30th as I'm writing this here comment, happy new year! May 2017 be less awful and bring us a winter of Lazer Team 2.


End file.
